Question

After the 2004 tsunami disaster in Asia, there were reports that trained elephants had moved away

from the coastline before the tsunami struck. Scientists wondered if elephants had sensed the oncoming wave and the earthquake that created it. Elephant trunks have two kinds of nerve endings that are sensitive to pressure differences, but little is known about nerve ending distribution in the elephant's skin or feet. An elephant has recently died at a nearby zoo and scientists have decided

to dissect one of its feet to search for any special nerve endings. Results show a high density of pressure-sensitive nerve endings in the front of the foot and along the edges, which supports the

idea that elephants are sensing seismic signals produced by such disasters as earthquakes.


1. Independent variable

2. Dependent variable

4. Constant

5.controls

6.hypothesis

7. Sample size

8. Presence of repeated measures

Answer 1

In the given dissection for the finding of the idea that elephant can sense the seismic signals generated by natural disasters are as follows:

Independent variable: it is the variable which influences the dependent variable or the dependent variable depends on. Here the area of the feet that is chosen to be dissected is the independent variable.

Dependent variable: It is the variable that is manipulated or influenced by the independent variable, in this dissection the sensitive to the pressure, nerve ending in the selected area of the feet.

Constants: It is a variable that remains constant or fixed in the complete experiment. The number of the selection area is constant hat is in one foot here.

Controls: There is no such control present in this experiment However, the density of pressure-sensitive nerve endings can be considered as control.

Hypothesis: the pressure-sensitive ending is significantly enriched in the feet of the elephant.

Sample size: subject in this study is only one elephant and one foot so the sample size is 1.

Presence of repeated measures: Repeated measures are not performed during this study is only one experiment of dissection is performed on a single subject.